Pocket warmer with heat control



Aug. 16, 1955 G. L. BUTLER POCKET WARMER WITH HEAT CONTROL Filed Feb. 14. 1952 Grog L. Butler B24 @mm ATTORNEY United States Patent Otice 2,715,400 Patented Aug. 16, 1955 POCKET WARMER WITH HEAT CONTROL Gray L. Butler, Waterbury, Conn., assignor to Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application February 14, 1952, Serial No. 271,465

4 Claims. .'(Cl. 126-208) This invention relates to that class of small stoves or warmers which has come to be generally known as pocket warmers.

In recent years there has come into use small warmers which can be easily carried in a persons pocket. Such a warmer consists of a volatile fuel container having a n mouth at one end, a nozzle shaped casing fitted to said mouth which casing holds a burner for ameless combustion constituted by a catalytic body usually surrounded by a helical wire, the nozzle end of the container being provided with a detachable cover having perforated walls so that air can pass to and from the burner. One of the drawbacks to such burners is that once they are in operation they tend to become hotter the longer they are used and the more heat that is generated by the burner the more quickly the volatile fuel will be exhausted.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive means for regulating the heat produced by the burner to the desires of the user and also extending the period of use for any one iilling of the container.

There have been some attempts heretofore to regulate burners by valving olf the mouth of the fuel container out these have never been successful because of mechanical and other reasons. Instead of attempting to control the fuel directly my invention aims to provide a control of the air which ows around the burner and controllable from the outside of the cover cap without necessitating the removal of the cover.

According to my invention I arrange what I term a baille member inside the cover cap, movable to and away from a position allowing more or less air to ow directly around the burner. This bafe member does not necessarily limit the volume of air owing through the cover member itself. By making the baffle in the form of a collar or tubular` member open at both ends the burner is always exposed to the air above it, the bafe collar serving to control the rate of convection depending on its position relative to the burner.

With this improvement I also gain a very distinctive advantage in that more perforations can be put into the cap adjacent and below the burner so that at times when greater heat is desired it can be provided by moving the bafe member away from the burner. Heretofore, such holes could not be employed because without some regulation the device would become too hot and uncontrollable.

Furthermore, I obtain a more eflicient combustion of the escaping fumes by permitting air to enter from the lower side of the burner.

The full nature of this invention, along with other objects and various advantages thereof, will be more apparent from a consideration of the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a front View of a pocket warmer embodying the invention with portions broken away to show the interior construction.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the upper portion of the warmer on an enlarged scale, the view taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. l. Y

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 taken along the sectional line 3-3 of Fig. l, but showing the batiie member moved to its lower position.

Fig. 4 is a front View of the heater unit and upper end of the body.

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the same, and

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view of the cover member and heat control sleeve, the view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, the volatile fuel container is made of two parts, one a cupped shell or body 10 of elliptical cross section and a top piece or end cap 11 which is telescoped into and soldered or otherwise permanently secured into the open end of the body shell 10. The end of the cap 11 is formed with an opening or mouth 12 surrounded by a liange or neck 13. These assembled members 1) and 11 thus denne a chamber C into which is stuied absorbent material 14 such as cotton wadding or the like through the opening 12 and through which also may be poured a suitable volatile fuel which is soaked up by the wadding 14. A burner casing or holder 15 is frictionally fitted over the neck 13 so that it can be easily removed for recharging the container C with fuel. The casing 1S which will be described in more detail hereafter holds a burner unit B for ameless combustion of any known type herein comprising a catalytic body 16 of asbestos cloth impregnated with a platinum salt and surrounded by a helical spring wire 17 of nickel or other heat-conducting material.

A detachable cover 18 has a frictional iit over the top piece 11 and abuts against the edge of the body shell 10 to provide a smooth outside conguration. The side walls 19 and 2t) of the cover 1S are each provided with a group of air holes or perforations 21, and the top and ends of the cover are provided with elongated holes or slots 22.

Heretofore, because there .was no heat regulation it was found advisable to keep most of these perforations above the level of the burner unit B, but in my improved construction it will be noted that several of these holes are in lateral alignment with and at or below the level of said burner unit. It will be noted that there is some amount of clearance between the side of the holder casing 15 and the side walls of the cover 18 and a great deal more clearance between the ends of the cap and ends of said casing 1S so as to permit a free flow of air between them.

According to my invention I provide a bale inside the cover 18 for regulating the ow of air to and around the burner. Assuming that the device is in its normal vertical position, air will enter the lowermost perforations, pass around the burner and out through the uppermost perforations. The relatively large cover acts like a chimney to create a draft around the burner. The bale herein consists of a collar or sleevelike member 23 preferably having a loose sliding contact with the side walls 19 and of the cover 18 and capable of being moved to abutted relationship with the burner casing 15.

A vertical slot 24 in the front side wall 19 of the cover accommodates a thumb piece 25 attached in any suitable way to the collar 23 and having side extensions 26 bearing on the outer surface of the cover along the sides of the slot 24. Preferably the wall of the cover 18 about the slot 14 is indented inwardly as at 27 and the adjacent wall of the collar 23 likewise is provided with a complemental indented section 28. The construction of the thumb piece is such that in engaging the sides of the vertical slot 24 along with the complemental indentations 27 and 28 of the cover and collar members it serves to hold the collar in proper alignment in the cover. Furthermore, the cover indentation 27 positions the thumb piece 25 so that it does not project much beyond the normal outer surface of the cover 18.

It will now be observed that the collar or bale member 23 'can be moved to what might be termed the low position shown in Fig. 3 where the lower end of the collar 23 preferably contacts or abuts the holder casing 1S. this position the rate of convection is so altered that the amount of air able to pass to the burner is limited thus reducing `the activity of the burner unit. Iowever, air can still ow freely through the cover and part of such air can get to the burner by coming through the top of the collar. uppermost position, shown in Fig. 2, there is a free flow of air through all of the openings to and around the burner unit. This provides for maximum combustion jand, of course, any intermediate position will tend to On the other hand, with the collar 23in its i In u partially baille the air ilow so that any desired degree of heat regulation is obtainable when only a small amount of heat is desired. Thus there is a lreal saving of fuel and the period of usefulness of the device is thereby extended'. The adjustment is very readily made without removing the cover or for that matter without even removing the warmer from the pocket. Referring more specifically to the holder casing 15,

. it hask side walls Vwhich extend well up on the burner which is desirable for directing the fumes toward the burner, and in order to direct primary air to the lower portion of the burner vI provide in the opposite side walls, slots 29 extending substantially the entire length of the burner casing 15. In forming these slots 29 the material from the side walls is pushed inwardly to form upwardly inclinedlouvers 30, and serves to deect the fumes into the burner unit B while the slots 29 admit air to combine with the fumes. Also these louvers in combination with a top strip 31 constitute a cage for the burner unit itself. The burner unit B being somewhat compressible may be pushed past the louvers 30 in assembling or disassembling the burner unit.

While certain speciiic embodiments of my invention have been disclosed, it will be obvious that changes may be made therein without departing from its principle, as deiined in the following claims.

I claim:

l. A pocket warmer comprising in combination, a volatile fuel container terminating at one end in a mouth, a burner for ameless combustion superirnposing said mouth, a hollow perforated cover detachably secured to the mouth end of said container and providing a substantial air space above and around said burner, means for introducing primary air to the lower portion of the burner, a baffle member mounted in said air space above the burner, said baille being carried by the cover and being movable therein toward and away from the burner to vary the convection currents in said air space returning to said burner to control the rate of combustion in said burner without interfering with the primary air.

2. A pocket warmer as defined in claim 1 wherein said container and cover are of elongated elliptic cross section and wherein said bale member comprises an elongated collar slidably fitted against two opposite side walls of said cover and wherein one of said side walls has an elongated slot, and an operating member attached to said collar and protruding through said slot and having means cooperating with the side edges of said slot to prevent relative twisting of the collar in the cover.

3. A pocket warmer as dened in claim 1 wherein said baffle member comprises a collar having sliding contact with opposite cover walls, said collar being of such size that it will envelop the top of said burner when moved over the same.

4. A pocket Warmer comprising in combination, a

volatile fuel container terminating at one end in a mouth, a burner unit, a casing for holding said burner unit above said mouth, said casing having louvered openings in its side walls below said burner unit, a hollow perforated cover detachably secured to the mouth end of said container and providing a substantial air space above and around said burner unit, and means for regulating the volume of vthe convection air currents within the cover i returning to said burner unit comprising a bafe member slidably mounted completely within the space above the burner and carried by said cover and movable to and away from said burner unit for adjustably baling the.

air which moves within the cover around the burner unit without interferingwith said louvered openings.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UllTED STATES PATENTS 

